


Cat-sudon

by Eldestmiddle



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Cat Cafe, Gen, Genderswap, Protective Yuri, Social Media, This is not what I intended, a miracle happens, angry yuri like you've never seen before, but he's sorry, even smol!er yuri, ex-skater!yuuri, girl!yuuri, rated t for yuri's language, the media is mean, then an angel cries, viktor is a tactless jerk, when fans just can't quit you, yakov knows that there is more to come, yakov wishes he was done, yuri has a squish on yuuri, yuri's angels - Freeform, yuri-centric, yuris are cat lovers, yuuri katsuki brings men to their knees
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 15:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9390353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eldestmiddle/pseuds/Eldestmiddle
Summary: Yuri is in love with the owner of the cat café and he doesn’t care what anyone says about it.Not that he’s telling anybody either.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> probably won't continue because i really need to work on my other yoi but i liked the idea of yuuri and yuri interaction so much and my brain needed a break from solemnly swears.  
> if i do continue in the future, it will be viktuuri.
> 
> warning for body criticism.

Yuri had been on the way back to practice after having stormed out of the rink when he saw the most amazing place in the world.

It was a small glass front restaurant, but it was filled with _cats_.

Of course, he immediately went in.

That’s where Yuri meets Yuuri.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri, who is a sweet looking Asian girl with the sort of light padding that comes of being a good cook, is thrilled to meet Yuri who shares her name. She hands him a short haired calico cat and promises him “katsudon” on the house. She’s looking at him in the fuzzy, little-kid way he hates but she let him into her cat place so he stays quiet.

When he takes a bite of the katsudon, he swears he has just found a sort of heaven. Delicious food and cats galore in one spot. He’s never leaving.

Of course, that isn’t a viable life plan because he needs to skate and Yakov starts blowing up his phone with so many calls that he can’t use the camera to take pictures of himself with the _million cat_ s around him. Girl-Yuuri waves off any attempts at paying and tells him to go on with a smile and, really, she isn’t that bad if she likes cats like this.

Yuri ends up getting two extra hours of practice, but that’s alright. The restaurant would’ve been closed by then anyway.

He goes back the next free afternoon he has and then for all his free time afterwards.

It turns out that this kind of restaurant is common in Japan and is called a “cat café”. Frankly, Yuri blesses whatever made Yuuri decide she wanted to open one in St Petersburg. He is such a regular that he has a special favorite cat, a long-haired cream with dark points named Sasha. She is affectionate and quiet, always padding over to sit by or on him, knocking over any other cats that are in the way of her perch. Yuri loves her. Yuri also likes Yuuri, okay. Yuris need to stick together.

He gets introduced to the adoption program through a scare. He’s waiting in line to pay, Sasha rubbing her head by his knee, when the guy ahead of him mentions wanting to adopt one of the cats. _Then he describes Sasha_ and not like, _she’s adorable and aggressive and standoffish and perfect_ , but like, _that long-haired point is really cute_. And that’s it, like that’s all there is to Sasha. Yuri can feel himself getting red and teary, which he hates, when he hears Yuuri apologetically explain that Sasha is not for adoption because she’s a personal cat, not one of the fosters. Then, as she goes on about Mikhail, a _lovely_ blue tabby, she catches Yuri’s eye over the guy’s shoulder and gives him a wink. The guy leaves with paperwork for Mikhail and then Yuri is stepping up to the register, avoiding Yuuri’s eyes.

“Adoption?”

“I foster strays from shelters and socialize them until they are able to be in the café. Then, people can come and if they like a particular cat, they are able to adopt them. I guarantee vaccinations and spaying/neutering and do home visits to makes sure they settle in fine.”

“Ah,” Yuri passes over his bill. “So Sasha is your cat?”

“Yuri.”

She waits until Yuri looks up to meet her eyes. Then she smiles at him, exasperated. “Sasha is _your_ cat.”

Yuri’s heart goes, to use the Japanese term, _dokidoki_.

Yuri doesn’t care that he’s twelve and that Yuuri is twenty, he’s going to marry her and eat katsudon and pet all the cats for the rest of his life.

 

* * *

 

It turns out that Yuuri had been a skater and a really good one. Yuri finds out when he comes in after practice ended early and he still has his skates with him. Yuuri looks at the bag and instantly recognizes the shape of the lumps because her face goes a little sad. She only says, “I used to skate.” But Yuri can recognize when she’s downplaying by now so he stays quiet and searches “katsuki yuri japan skating” when he gets home.

And _shit_.

She won gold in the Woman’s Singles in the GPX Finals when she was seventeen, but she’s also the second woman to ever land a quad in competition and the first to land a quad flip. After Worlds that year, she immediately retired to much criticism from her home country. Looking at her videos, Yuri can’t figure it out. She’d been the top of her game. He is amazed by the amount of detail that went into her routines and can recognize gold-medal material when he sees it. She could’ve shot to rock star fame the way Viktor did.

“It’s because I was fat.”

“You weren’t fat!”

Yuuri still isn’t fat. She’s gained a bit from cooking and eating well but she’s not fat. Yuuri just smiles sadly as she cuddles three cats at once. “The Women’s division is held to different standards than the Men’s. Even toned, I looked chunky. It would’ve been better had I been a male skater. There are some articles online about that very fact.”

Yuri fumes into Sasha’s fur at the injustice. “You were the best in Japan. No one else could touch that. I saw your Nationals. You could’ve stuck to it,” he protests.

“Yes, I could’ve. Surya Bonaly managed it but I couldn’t.” Yuuri looks tired rather than hurt anymore. “I got tired of being told that I won on pity or that the judges gave me points for handicapping myself with weight by my peers. I won Gold at the GPX and went home to articles about how it was a shame I didn’t put dedication into my diet the way I put into my quads. Then they made a joke about my quads as in my thighs.”

Yuri is breathless with fury.

“I already had some anxiety but it got really bad. I could skate on the ice because I loved it and knew it and trusted it but I couldn’t handle the aftermath of interviews and articles criticizing my body. It started affecting me badly enough that I was anticipating my panic attacks, so I quit before the next season started and invested in becoming a cat lady in St Petersburg.”

Yuuri sees how Yuri wants to fly to Japan and punch everybody in the face and hugs him. He lets her because she’s been given a shit hand in life.

“I’m fine now. I still dance and skate pretty regularly and nobody tells me to cut down on the katsudon.” Yuuri pulls away to smirk into his eyes. “And I cheer for Mila Babicheva every GPX and World’s.”

The next practice, Yuri looks at Mila and nearly gives her a heart attack when he nods and says, “Good job, Baba.” He refuses to explain even after being run down and picked up.

 

* * *

 

Yuri keeps watching Yuuri’s routines and he wants to imitate her footwork. He tries, a couple times in practice, but ends up falling all over himself and getting yelled at by Yakov for fooling around and not doing what he was assigned. Whatever. He goes to see Yuuri because he knows she won’t turn him away even if remembering is sad. She already loves him for loving Sasha and katsudon and for being Yuri.

Yuuri smiles mischievously at him after he asks and says, with a level of pity, “Figures and dance.”

Which. Shit.

She laughs at the face he makes. Then she asks him to stay after closing.

Yuuri takes him to the upstairs flat which is all dance studio with a tiny kitchen and a rather nice bathroom attached. And cat beds all around the walls for those not ready for the café yet. Yuuri warns him that some are shy and one in particular, a ferociously scarred long-haired chocolate named Kobuta, is actually her personal cat.

Then she teaches him swing dancing, concentrating on the lindy hop. She coaches him through not only the quick footwork but on how to step fast and clean. Then she puts on music and they dance until he’s sweating and shaking. She leads him through cool down and gives him towels to wipe off with before letting him head out. Yuri only barely dissuades her from walking him home; he lives close, anyway.

Yakov is shocked silent when Yuri goes through figures without a murmur of protest. It’s not like he can do anything strenuous anyway, he’s still beat from swing dancing. When he drops by Yuuri’s place after practice, she lets him upstairs and shows him some flexibility stretches and they do a bit of ballet before dancing again. He can feel himself hitting the right steps and it satisfies him. After a couple of weeks (during which she keeps telling him to pace himself and piles cats on him when he doesn’t listen), Yuri finds his current step sequences to be easy, too easy, and starts to try out some of Yuuri’s junior sequences, and he nails the earlier ones.

Yakov is impressed for once by someone who isn’t Viktor and pats Yuri on the shoulder.  

Yuri goes to brag to Yuuri and she promises to show him something really cool.

Then she introduces him to breakdancing.

It is aggressive in a way he really likes. He wants to start right away and Yuuri laughs at his eagerness. She has to show him how to control his attitude, to keep his core strong and balance sure even while throwing his limbs every which way. Yuri loves it. What has he been doing all his life with _ballet_? Yuuri slaps down that kind of thinking and reminds him of foot position and flexibility and jumps and fair enough, but breakdancing is his go to dance now.

Yuri calls his grandpa to tell him all about it and grandpa tries to tease him about being in love but Yuri is completely serious when he swears that he wants to marry Yuuri because she’s amazing and dances and cooks and owns a cat café. They will be Yuri Plisetsky and Yuuri Plisetskaya. They already match. Grandpa laughs but Yuris swears that he should come down to meet his future granddaughter-in-law.

But don’t tell her that because he’s still twelve.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh no, i accidentally made yuuri cry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shitshit _shitshit **shitshitshit!** **fuck! damn!**_
> 
> i did this thing.

“FUCKING FUCK OFF!! I HATE _ALL OF YOU, GO TO HELL!_ ”

Yuri kicks his way out of the door of the rink and stops abruptly when he hits the curb.

He can’t go to the dorms.

Everyone knows to find him there and his grandpa’s in Moscow.

He only hesitates for a second, aware that his rinkmates are probably gawking at him from the double doors, before heading off.

Good riddance.

 

* * *

 

 

“You look tired.”

Yuri just mumbles from where he has his head on Yuuri’s lap. She’s petting his head and scratching at his scalp soothingly. He’s already had a dinner of katsudon pirozhki that he helped her make and now all the cats were cuddled up around him, even Kobuta who hated everybody but Yuuri.

“Want to tell me what’s wrong? It’s getting late and it’s already dark.”

“No.”

Yuuri just continues brushing his hair back from his face and patting it down.

“I’m the youngest one at the rink, so everyone thinks that they can boss me around and pick on me.”

His eyes flash as he grips her knee.

“ _Especially that old hag and Viktor_.”

Yuuri murmurs soothingly and it relaxes Yuri enough that Kobuta stops eyeing him and puts his head back down. Sasha only cuddles even more closely under his arm.

“Yakov tells me to ignore it but the hag lives in the dorms with me and everybody just lets Viktor in even though he has his own apartments with that mutt of his, so they’re _always around_.”

“What happened today?”

“I was _doing_ the step sequences for my short program. For my first Nationals. When Viktor comes over and he’s acting like he’s the coach all of a sudden. He’s telling me that my foot position is crooked and I should slow down because I’ll make more mistakes trying to do things too far above my level. Then Mila acts like I should listen to Viktor just because then she _lifts me off the ice_ , _for my own good_.”

“Where was Yakov?”

“Doesn’t matter. He always takes their side.”

Yuuri sighs but it’s more fond than anything else.

“Give me your coach’s number. I’ll call him to let him know you’re staying over. I promise not to let him know where you are.”

Yuri happily tells her and listens in as she uses her landline to call and assure “Coach Feltsman” that Yuri was safe and would be at practice tomorrow without any mishaps.

Yuuri always sounds really genuinely nice so that when she gets off the phone, she tells him that Yakov had said as long as he got permission from his grandfather and called Yakov, he’d get to stay at her place instead of the dorms every once in a while.

 

* * *

 

 

Of course, it’s not the end of it.

 _Because Viktor finds out_.

Yuri had been tempted to move in with Yuuri but for the fact that it would have been really rude and inconvenient though she probably would have let him and his grandfather had paid for his housing through the next year. So he used her place as a refuge whenever the dorms felt too crowded and he needed a break. She would direct him to a corner of the café or upstairs when he was too antsy and bring him some onigiri and Sasha would show up to sit on him and purr. His grandfather had, of course, given his blessings and Yuri starts feeling settled.

_Then Viktor Nikiforov shows up at the café._

Yuri actually trusts Yakov to an extent so he probably didn’t tell Viktor. On the other hand, Viktor probably just lifted the landline’s number from Yakov’s phone and did a google search.

Whatever happened, Viktor shows up at the café after closing and knocks to be let in.

“ _Get out_.”

Viktor laughs like he laughs at everything.

“Yuri, you can’t chase customers away like that!” He smiles.

“ _We’re closed, you idiot._ ”

“I missed you, though.” Viktor gives a gross pout.

Yuri gags.

“Seriously!” _the bastard fucking laughs_ , “You kept disappearing! I was so worried about my son!”

“ _I’m not your son._ ”

Then the bastard turns and _looks at Yuuri and says_ , “But I guess you were off visiting this cute piggy!”

Yuuri gasps and Yuri jumps and _punches Viktor in the throat_.

Viktor falls back gagging and hopefully with a collapsed trachea. Just in case, Yuri bends over his fallen body and is readying his fist when Yuuri grabs his shoulder.

“Yuri! You can’t kill him!”

He looks into her wet eyes ( _kill, he will **kill** Viktor_) and she continues, “The café will be closed down!”

And… yeah… it wouldn’t look good if a famous figure skater ended up dead in a restaurant. It’d probably get shut down for either health violations or as a crime scene and what would happen to Sasha and the others if their mom lost her income and couldn’t support them? It’d be back to the shelters and they weren’t no-kill. And he wasn’t making enough yet to support Yuuri and the cats.

He also wouldn’t feed the cats Viktor’s undoubtably disgusting body just to hide the evidence.

Damn, this must be what being an adult was like. Having priorities and weighing consequences.

Yuri leans back and, sensing that Yuri has come to his senses, Yuuri pats his shoulder and disappears into her flat. Sasha pushes her soft, sweet face into his hand, as though in reminder, and he starts to scratch behind her ears. Viktor coughs and tries to sit up.

Yuri doesn’t bother offering him a hand.

As he watches Viktor struggle, Yuuri comes back holding Kobuta. She grimly says, “Well, if you wanted a piggy…” and hands Kobuta to Viktor and Viktor automatically takes the cat.

Yuri had never seen what Kobuta was around others because Kobuta made it clear that he did not tolerate unsolicited touching, looking, or breathing even while kept upstairs and would haughtily walk away to his throne which none of the other cats touched. So it is his pleasure and privilege to see Kobuta quickly jab-punch Viktor five times in the eye before leaping away with a donkey-kick to the chin.

After Viktor apologizes profusely, Yuuri unbends enough to allow him to eat katsudon with them, _even though he doesn’t deserve it_. Viktor yells, “ _Vkusno!_ ” after the first bite and Yuri takes the rest of the bowl hostage until Viktor agrees not to come to the café without Yuri’s permission.

 

* * *

 

 

Yuri realizes, after a while, that he’s never seen Yuuri skate. She claimed that she kept up with dancing and skating, and she’s been helping him with dance, but he’s never seen her on the ice.

He doesn’t mention it.

It’s killing him because he wants to know but he won’t be selfish and mention it because then, she’d feel obligated to explain.

He catches her, one early morning, coming back to the flat. He would have thought that she’s just taken an extra long jog except for the fact that she’s carrying a bag. He realizes how she had probably recognized his skates before because he can tell immediately, despite a towel and a water bottle, that there are definitely skates in that bag.

He looks away quickly and starts petting one of the friendlier flat cats.

There is a pause, then Yuuri comes to sit by him and lean on his shoulder.

“Yuri, let’s go skating tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

 

They head to a rink that is managed by a fan of hers. She is allowed the key and privacy to skate whenever she pleases. Yuri is pleased by this consideration.

Yuuri laces up and quickly heads for the ice. She pauses and looks at Yuri when he doesn’t follow suit.

He shrugs, “I wanna watch you first.”

He takes her guards with a smile and leans on the boards as she glides off.

She hasn’t lost her touch.

Yuri watches her go whip out a lightning-fast step sequence, into a flying sit spin, and back into another step sequence without a pause. Yuuri has definitely been keeping up with her training, whatever she may say about not competing anymore. After a while, she starts on some jumps. Yuri quickly pulls out his phone and calls, “Yuuri, can you show me your quad flip?”

Yuuri half-turns towards him and laughs. She’s much lighter on the ice. Yuri can see that she told the truth. The ice is the best, safest place for her to be. It’s what waits outside that’s the problem.

She waves and starts a pretty and unnecessary sequence towards him as he tracks her with the camera.

Yuuri sets up for the jump and _leaps_.

And lands, laughing with pure joy.

Yuri saves the video and slumps over the boards with a smile as she takes a lap around the rink backwards. He’s considering joining her on the ice when she does an abrupt turnabout to face him, smiling shy and sweet.

“Hey, do you want to see something really cool?”

Yuri straightens and brings his phone back up. “ _Yes_.”

She laughs and starts another sequence but at a much faster clip around the ice. She swings her right foot forward as she takes off on the outside edge of the left blade.

Yuri’s jaw drops but he keeps his phone steady.

She lands backwards on her right foot, arms up, and her expression is beatific.

 _A quad axel_.

And she hadn’t just done it, she nailed it. Yuri feels a chill as he realizes that she’s done this before. She’s done this many times before.

He goes over the footage but it’s unmistakable. It was definitely a quad axel.

Yuri looks up into Yuuri’s wry smile as she sweeps around to face him.

“You’ve done this before.”

He winces at how accusingly that came out, but Yuuri only tilts her head at him, still smiling.

“No one, man or woman, has ever landed a quad axel in competition.” She says, eyes staring over his shoulder before focusing back on him. “Some say it isn’t even possible in practice.”

“Some say all women’s triple axels will be always underrotated.” Yuri retorts, his heart beating fast. He knows he’s blushing.

Yuuri laughs.

He can’t blame her. History had just been made in front of him.

“How long?”

Yuuri stops laughing. “I had already prepared my quad flip for the Grand Prix. I started work on the quad axel during the competition and managed it with consistency right before the Finals. I swore my coach to secrecy.” Yuri feels a twinge of envy that he wasn’t the first to see her axel.

“All the judges were so impressed that I had managed a fully rotated triple axel since the beginning but it got overwhelmed by the fact that I could do a quad flip. I wanted to save my quad axel for my second Grand Prix.”

Ah. He swallows at the thought of the second Grand Prix that never was. It would have been magnificent.

“I wanted… to bring a higher standard to Women’s Singles.”

Yuuri looks steadily at Yuri and he finds that he can’t look away.

“If my programs had both a quad flip and a quad axel in them, it would have forced other skaters to catch up, to at least have a fully rotated triple axel if nothing else. And the next generation of women skaters will be growing up watching me and-.”

“That’s what you were aiming for.” Yuri can’t believe what he’s hearing. “You wanted to bring quads into Women’s Singles.”

“Yes.”

As he stares at her, tears start to fall down Yuuri’s face. She touches her face and looks at her wet fingertips, almost in shock, before burying her face in her hands.

“Oh no.”

Yuri is horrified.

“Yuri, I didn’t want to quit. I wanted to stay on the ice.”

She starts to sob.

Yuri rushes onto the ice, slipping and sliding on his sneakers ( _stupidstupidstupid, whatever, I don’t care_ ), and grabs her in a hug. She folds over his head and starts to wail.

“ _Yuri, I really wanted to stay_.”

Someone had once told Yuri, when he started skating at seven, that he would break his heart on the ice over and over. This probably isn’t what they meant, but his heart is breaking for the first time on the ice now.

 

* * *

 

 

Yuri lays on his stomach in bed, in the dark, rewatching Yuuri’s quad axel on his phone for the nth time.

He starts to grow angry, remembering her tears of frustration. He watches the incredible height and distance she managed and pauses, mid rotation, to zoom in on her slightly blurry face.

She’s smiling.

He gets angrier.

Yuri opens up his Instagram.

 

[ _video_ ]

**#fuckyou #withlove #fromrussia**

 

He pushes the little thumbnail and Yuuri sweeps into a quad axel before landing again and again.

After a long moment, he swipes away and taps “Share”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate myself.  
> but maybe now, i can write solemnly swears.  
> edit: yuri totally disregards the fact he would've gotten locked up for murder. XDDDD


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> well, what do you expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why do i keep writing this.

**YURASangel** who is that.

 **yuri-pli-set-sky-with-diamonds** wHOSE THAT

 **Angelyuri** #WHOISTHAT

 **YURIFAN126** ANGELS ALERT! A GIRL HAS BEEN POSTED TO YURACHKA’S INSTA #WHOISTHAT @plisestskate @ANGELadmin @katskatskate @Fairystales152 @angelsinmoscow @burningheart120 @podium1plisetsky @plisetSKYburnsRED @IMclappingIMbelieving @FLYintheplisetSKY @YURILIFEYURILOVE @yuriscatisme

 **VyuriangelV** Whos Fatty?

 **burningheart120** STOP TAGGING ME IN YOUR SKATE SHIT SIS @YURIFAN126

 **YULIAplisetskaya** Calm down, it’s probably a rinkmate.

 **ANGELadmin** HOW DID I MISS THIS #WHOISTHAT

 **plisetskate** she’s too old fo him anyway #WHOSTHAT

 **ANGELattheBOARDS** I think it’s sweet. Yurachka is showing support for fellow skaters!

 **YuriYuriForever** What’s up with the #hastags?

 **katskatskate** that’s not his rink #WHOISTHAT

 **IMclappingIMbelieving** But #hashtags tho @ANGELattheBOARDS

 **SKATE4EVERLIFE** ALLYALL DUMBSHITS THATS A QAD AXEL

 **SKATE4EVERLIFE** #QUADAXEL @SKATEcalmandAXELon @crossedblades4 @ThinICEblades

 **yurisgoldmedal** #WHOISTHAT

 **FLYintheplisetSKY** #WHOISTHAT shiitthat’s a #QUADAXEL

 **SKATEcalmandAXELon** #QUADAXEL is this for real? #isthisthereallife #isthisjustfantasy i'm crying please help me. is this really real?

 **ANGELID645882** WHOS THAT GIRL ON YURACHKA’s INSTRAGRAM

 **SKATEcalmandAXELon** @isufigureskating

 **SrFl** Fakers cgi shit all the time #NOTREAL #QUADAXEL

 **plisetSKYburnsRED** ARE YOU CALLING YURACHKA A FAKER @SrFl @plisestskate @katskatskate @ANGELadmin @YuriYuriForever @catears116 @podium1plisetsky @angelsinmoscow @iceicekitty @yurisgoldmedal @styurisburg @ANGELattheBOARDS @YURIFAN126 @YURASangel @MOSCOWSJOY @yurasfam @plisetskayawannabe @PiterandRadost #yurasenemy

 **podium1plisetsky** you better check yourself before you WREK yourself @SrFl #yurasenemy

 **ThinICEblades** That’s a #QUADAXEL @knifeshoes @crossedblades4 dude serioiusly serious this time @24onICE

 **yuri-pli-set-sky-with-diamonds** #yurasenemy That was uncalled for howdareyousaysomthinglikethat WHOSDSo uoTHINKG YOuare? @SrFl

 **YURASangel** @SrFl you shut your dirty whore mouth #yurasenemy

 **24onICE** I’m a hockey player and that’s pretty lit. #QUADAXEL

 **russianicefairy** #WHOISTHAT

 **angelsinmoscow** um, hockey player alert

 **YURIFAN126** trash @SrFl you are trash and we will bury you. #yurasenemy @ANGELadmin @burningheart120 @YURILIFEYURILOVE @katskatskate @Angelyuri @Fairystales152 @yurasfam 

 **SrFl** you mad, bro?

 **SKATE4EVERLIFE** why aren’t more people concerned that that is a #QUADAXEL #HISTORYMAKER hello?

 **plisetSKYburnsRED** @angelsinmoscow don’t worry about it. He’s harmless. He’s not #yurasenemy

 **yurasfam** you’re dead.

 **IMclappingIMbelieving** shiiiit @yurasfam is here.

 **burningheart120** I. DON’T. CARE. @YURIFAN126

 **russianicefairy** Wait, what little pus-ridden, yellow-stained backalley leavings said what about our Yura? #yurasenemy @SrFl

 **angelinskates** WHAT IS GOINGON HERE. #WHOISTHAT

 **kittenwings** whosthat

 **kittenwings** #WHOISTHAT

 **angelinskates** ohsssHIT @yurasfam said a thing WATCHOUT #DEADTRASH #yurasenemy @SrFl

 **yuriscatisme** yura is #blessed because he caught a #QUADAXEL #WHOISTHAT

 **kittykattyyuri** alsdfwalefhnidsklndkewfn #WHOISTHAT

 **SrFl** Come at me #fightme @yurasfam

 **plisetSKYburnsRED** ohshit #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **YURIFAN126** ohshit #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **ANGELadmin** hoshit #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **burningheart120** dude, no #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **YURASangel** ohshit #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **yuri-pli-set-sky-with-diamonds** Rest In Pieces #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **kittykattyyuri** shit

 **styurisburg** Fuck i can't watch #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **IMclappingIMbelieving** ohshit #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **SKATEcalmandAXELon** wait, what happened?

 **Angels!!!onICE** #WHOSTHTAT

 **YULIAplisetskaya** #yurasenemy #deadtrash

 **SKATE4EVERLIFE** ohshit #deadtrash #yurasenemy

 **knifeshoes** HTAT’s YUURI KATSUKI #yuurikatsuki #katsukiyuuri #QUADAXEL #QUADFLIP #GPXGOLD @SKATE4EVERLIFE @ThinICEblades @isufigureskating @MOhisashi

 **yuri-plisestsky** GO FUCK YOURSELF @VyuriangelV 

 

* * *

 

“Yakov, I’m sick.”

“You’re not sick.”

“HAGCKDGGGaAAAAaAAGkRRAAARGHccccckkkKKRRRAAAAAAA…”

“…”

“I’m sick. I won’t be in today. Maybe tomorrow too.”

“What are you talking about, Yura? What’s gotten into you?”

“I’m sick. Don’t look for me.”

“Wait, what? Where are you-.”

“............”

“YUUUURRRAAAAAAAA.”

 

* * *

 

Yuri quickly shoves his feet into his shoes and bolts out the door for Yuuri’s place. It’s early enough that the streets are mostly empty. He should be home free once he gets inside the café.

One block from the café, Yuri sees Viktor heading for the café as well.

 _Shit_.

“VIIIIIIKKKKKTTOOOOORR!”

Viktor stops only to be taken down by a tackle.

“Yura-!”

“ _What are you doing here._ ”

"Yakov said you called in sick."

“What the fuck does that matter.”

“Yura!”

“ _Go away_.” Yuri stands up and folds his arms, glaring down at Viktor. “I didn’t give you _permission_ to be here, so get lost.”

“Yura-.”

“ _You promised_.”

Viktor falls silent and really looks at Yuri.

"Yura, what have you done?"

Yuri flushes red and yells, "NOTHING!" He starts toward the cafe doors, only pausing to say, over his shoulder, “Don’t bother us, okay?”

 

* * *

 

 **v-nikiforov**  Yura, I saw the post.

 **yuri-plisestsky** GET LOST

 

* * *

 

Yakov runs a tight ship but he is stricter than usual the day Yuri calls sick.

It doesn't help that Viktor is distracted as well, cutting aimlessly across the ice and ignoring any and all attempts to get him to start practicing.

Everyone else keeps quiet with their heads down as Yakov starts screaming at Viktor to get his mind on the ice. He's loud enough that people don't notice the commotion at the rink doors at first.

"Sir! Please! You're not allowed in here."

A man muscles his way past the rink employee. Yakov's eyes narrow. He recognizes the intruder as a reporter and commentator at several ISU events.

God forbid, could little Yura have actually caused some sort of scandal? What could he have possibly done at twelve years old? Why didn't Viktor warn him?  _Why were the talented ones so much **trouble**_?

Yakov squares his shoulders, puts on his "no comment" face, and moves to intercept the man before any contact with his curious students is made.

"What is your business here? You aren't-URK!"

The reporter grabs Yakov by the shoulders and leans in far too closely. He has bags under his eyes and stinks of stale airplane.

"Please! Tell me!  _Is Yuuri Katsuki training under you for her comeback?"_

"What?!"

 

* * *

 

_"-I might call back if you're worth it but seriously, just text me, you stupid fossils."_

"YUUUUURAAAAAAA,  _WHAT HAVE YOU **DONE**?_ "

 

* * *

 

Yuri watches his phone nervously as his notifications keep pinging. Shit, he really didn't think this through. He absently pets Sasha as he watches the Angels get pushed back by the more serious skating fans and even some actual skaters commenting on his post.

It wouldn't do any good to erase it. It's already out there and, thanks to the Angels, it's circulated all over the web. He watches the forums pop up and a world-wide twitter war start.

Fuck.

 _He has got to start thinking of consequences_.

"Yuri?"

Yuuri is worriedly hovering over him with a plate of steaming hot katsudon pirozhki.

"Is everything alright at the rink? Did the others do something again?"

Yuri stares into the Yuuri's sweet, sweet, trusting eyes.

_Oh, oh god. What have I done._

Yuri crumbles and confesses his sins.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i confess  
> i had a lot of fun with the first part


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yakov is finally somewhat informed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short but i have to post becuase i FEEL myself losing momentum and sliding into hiatus.  
> also mooning over two new stories in my head instead of posting solemnly swears.  
> shit.  
> viktor is not as bad a yuri makes him out to be, not even by half, but yuri is twelve so viktor is the WORST.

Yuuri says it's fine.

It's not fine.  _It is really not fine_.

Her eyes get wet and Yuri just wants to  _die_.

How could he cause her suffering like this.

He is a piece of shit.  He hadn't really been thinking of her at all but, instead, of his own wounded sense of justice. He is thoughtless and selfish.

_He is Viktor Nikiforov_.

The thought sends a stab of anguish through his heart and it's too much.

Yuri starts to cry and Yuuri hugs him and says "It's alright, it's alright" as if he wasn't the one to bring trouble to her. As if it wasn't all his fault.

They both end up clinging to each other and crying while the cats mill around them mewling anxiously.

After the crying jag, Yuuri wipes her face with a hankerchief she had in her pocket and says "I forgive you."

Yuri takes the tissues she hands him in a daze.

"Don't do it again. But I forgive you."

 

* * *

 

Yakov screams for Yuri to get his ass back to practice the next day, but by that time, ISU officials had honed in on the rink and Yuri spends his time hiding in Yakov's locked office, listening to Yakov assure the officials at the rink doors that Yuri was definitely sick and definitely in the dorms and definitely underage and definitely should not be contacted without Yakov's permission. At the office door, Mila scratches the doorframe and hisses through the crack to open up and tell her where Yuuri Katsuki is.

Yeah, right, he'll definitely tell that hag where Yuuri is.

_Not_.

Viktor seems to be acting decently for once because he _isn't_ by Mila at the office door and Yuuri had assured him through text that Viktor had not been by. Yuri keeps an eye on Viktor's social media but Viktor seems to be keeping his promise, fluff-brained ditz he is. He doesn't need Viktor making the same mistake he just did.

Yuuri might not let him back.

The thought chills him.

She'd probably give him Sasha, she wasn't cruel and she always said that Sasha was his cat and no other, but...

She might not let him come back.

So Yuri has to be very careful.

 

* * *

 

**_When does practice end?_ **

Yuri stares at the text on his phone.

After the ISU officials had been discouraged enough to leave, Yakov had come into the office and demanded to know what the fuss was about. After been shown the video, Yakov had been silent for a long, long moment.

"Next time, warn me beforehand so I know what to say."

Then he had gotten up only to turn back at the door to shout, " _But don't let there be a next time! Now get on the ice!_ "

Apparently discovering a miracle only gives you one day off practice.

Yakov had thankfully kept everyone too busy to talk and broke up any attempts at cornering Yuri.

Even now, his break is being taken under Yakov's gimlet gaze.

He quickly texts back the time.

**_I will be coming by to talk to Coach Feltsman, have him stay back for me?_ **

Yuri lets out a slow breath. He stubbornly refuses to think about the implications.

"Hey, Yakov..."

 

* * *

 

"I'm Yuuri Katsuki. It's nice to meet you, sir."

Yakov grunts at politely bowing Yuuri which makes Yuri want to pinch his side, but there is a pleased grin tucked away in the corner of Yakov's mouth. None of his students address him respectfully after Viktor started the trend of just calling him "Yakov".

"I'm sorry about any trouble that the video has caused you personally and-"

" _Sir! Please! This is a restricted area- sir! **SIR!**_ "

 A tanned, square-jawed man shoves past the receptionist.

Yakov groans and stomps over the intercept the man and start bodily shoving him toward the exit. Emboldened by Yakov's actions, the receptionist jams her shoulder into the man's solar plexus and starts to push.

Yuri looks at Yuuri only to see her face pale as she stares at the struggling interloper.

Yeah, he has to go and it will be Yuri's pleasure to help him on his way.

Yuuri's hand on his shoulder stops him from joining the scrimmage.

"Morooka-san."

The man shakes off the defenders in the ensuing shock. He stands very upright as he stares at Yuuri with fervent eyes.

"Katsuki-san."

Yuri starts feeling itchy.

Yakov and the receptionist stare wide eyed at the pair.

" _Please!_ " the guy actually kneels on the ground and bows his head. " _Please come back!_ "

Yuri breaks away from Yuuri to run at the guy and kick in his head.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that receptionist is DONE.  
> she doesn't get a name, she doesn't get characterization, she's always pushed around by the other secondary characters...  
> she is so DONE.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hahahahhaa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have sat on this for a week because i wanted to make it longer buuuuuuuuut....

Yuri gets locked up for attempted murder.

The defendent objects on grounds that his skates had their hard guards on.

Judge, jury, and executioner Yakov overrules his objection and points out that kicking anyone with anything he calls knife-shoes was automatically murderous.

Yuri is locked in the locker room against his and Yuuri's wishes but it's better than the maintenance closet that a furious Yakov had wanted to shove him into or an actual locker which that rink lady had eyed up speculatively. It's infuriating and most especially because he knows that Yakov and that pushy brute are discussing Yuuri's future with her in Yakov's office and _they are leaving him out of it._

_Who knows what those ogres could be doing to Yuuri?_

Incensed, he starts pounding on the door with his fists again.

" _Let me out!! You better not be bullying her! YAAAAAKOOOOOOOOOOV! I'll kill you, I swear to god!_ "

The door swings open. Viktor looks at him in bewilderment.

"Wha-"

Yuri steps on and over Viktor on the way to Yakov's office and kicks in the naively unlocked door.

" _Hah!_ " 

Yuuri falls back with a bleeding nose.

Horrified, Yuri collapses onto his knees and starts screaming. 

" _Yura!_ " Yakov gets up from behind his desk while that other guy stares, alarmed and mute, but Yuuri waves him back and kneels to hug a stricken Yuri. She's smiling through her tears and there is blood smeared across half her face. Her nose is, miraculously, intact and her eyes are sparkling. She's never looked more beautiful.

"Yuri, I'm coming back."

 

* * *

 

"Celestino, I'm coming back."

 

* * *

 

Phichit skates over to his coach who had just taken a call then put his head down on top of the boards

"Hey, Ciao Ciao-!!!"

Ciao Ciao is crying.

He's not just crying, he's full on sobbing and there's snot and his face is red and he's snorting because he can't seem to breathe right.

" _Ciao Ciao, are you alright?_ "

Phichit grabs the phone out of his coach's hand as his coach slowly crumples onto the ground. He looks at the listed number but the contact only says "Lady Axel".

He's about the push the callback to get to the bottom of this when Ciao Ciao reaches over the board to grab his wrist. 

"Phichit, don't bother her, it's fine."

Phichit feels his eyes bulge, "You had a _girlfriend_ and you didn't _tell me?_ "

"Wha-."

"Did she break up with you? Over the phone? That's a dick move."

"Wait-."

"Do you need some time off? I can ask Coach Jackson to cover for a bit."

"Phi-."

"Why is she called Lady Axel? Does she skate? Did you coach her?" Phichit gasps, placing one hand delicately over his mouth, " _Did you have an affair with a student_?"

Ciao Ciao stares at him for a moment before shaking his head, "I don't understand how you can be so right and so, so wrong."

"What part am I right about? Skater, student, break up? _Affair?_ "

Phichit's eyes gleam as he whips out his phone. Ciao Ciao gets up from the floor and smiles at Phichit.

"Let me tell you about Yuuri."

 

 


	6. interlude: ciao ciao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> celestino had hoped that yuuri's clear talent would protect a la viktor nikiforov but it just made people jealous and post pictures of her eating lunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dialogue heavy  
> like mostly dialogue because celestino is fessing up.

“Yuuri as in _Yuuri Katsuki?_ That’s your _Lady Axel?_ ”

Phichit leans back, away from the boards anchored in by his hands.

“Well, I can’t say it isn’t appropriate.”

_Whooom!_

Phichit slingshots himself forward until his face is a scant inch from Celestino’s, balancing his torso on top of the boards.

“ _Ciao Ciao, she can do a quad axel, how could you keep this from me?_ ”

Celestino pushes Phichit’s face away, clutching at his chest in shock.

“Phichit- don’t- don’t do that it’s dangerous. Keep your feet on the ice.”

“ _Ciao Ciao!_ ”

Celestino sighs as he sits down on the bench. “I made a promise to her to keep it quiet. I considered leaking it at the end but that might’ve hurt her even more.” He rubs his hands over his face. “It got really bad at the end.”

Phichit watches quietly for once.

“I scouted Yuuri at a junior event in Japan. She was getting ready to debut as a senior but she already knew that she’d need a new coach.” Celestino smiles at the memory. “It was very good timing, for both us, really. I was looking for a new batch of senior skaters at the time, you know I don’t usually take Juniors. Elise and Mark had retired very abruptly to start a family and Oliver was looking for another coach, I had taken him as far we could go together.”

“Why Japan?”

Looking slightly pensive, Celestino admits, “I don’t rightly know. I guess because Japan had made a good showing at 4CC that year in Men’s though he wiped out of World’s. I was actually looking for a Men’s Single when I saw Yuuri at her Junior Nationals.”

Phichit slaps the boards with his palms, incorrigible as ever. “ _And it was love at first sight!_ ” he shouts over Celestino’s laughter.

“It was something, all right. She got gold very easily. Yuuri’s PCS has always been ready for Senior’s and her choreography had been done by a recipient of the Benois de la Danse which made her very particular from a young age. She could have actually debuted a year or so sooner but she needed a coach to take her through the Senior division. She was actively looking at the time and I just managed to keep from losing her to Odagaki.”

“Ciao Ciao, I swear to god, you have got to give me more than that. She’s become the god of the axel pretty much overnight and I worship at her altar and only passing out at the end of practice yesterday kept me from going to her wiki and finding out about you and her sooner, _you better start talking now_.

“ _Don’t look her up online_.”

Phichit’s eyebrows shoot up.

Celestino visibly collects himself and brushes a hand over the front of his puffer. “Please. Don’t look at her older articles.”

“Was she… did she wipe out badly?”

“What- no. No, it’s- she did very well. She always had. But I suppose you could say she got wiped out.”

It’s a hard topic to talk about, his failures as a coach and friend but Celestino tries.

“Yuuri has always been competitive. Not in a mean way but the best way to get her to do something was to tell her she couldn’t. She did the first ever quad flip in Women’s Single on her first Grand Prix run.” He smiles ruefully at the floor. “I remember telling her in practice that she didn’t need to do a quad. Her triple axel was actually her signature jump up until then and it was a thing of beauty. But Yuuri looked right at me and said, ‘Don’t hold me back. I’ll leave you behind.’”

Celestino looks up at Phichit who is staring at him strangely.

“Can you imagine? And she did it. In competition. And she kept landing it. Yuuri couldn’t have stood being a one-hit wonder. She told me that all her choreography would have a quad flip from then on.”

He sighs heavily. “She started landing the quad axel consistently in practice right around the Finals and she was planning on surprising everyone in the next season with two quads in her programs. She could’ve done it, too.”

“Why did she retire? She sounds wonderful.”

“She was wonderful. She was the best. But there were several mistakes made with how I handled her.” Celestino finally looks straight into Phichit’s eyes. “I knew she was something amazing so once the contract was signed, I took her back to Detroit as soon as humanely possible. Oliver had found a coach he was starting to negotiate a contract with so I focused a lot of my efforts on Yuuri and once he left, I decided not to take any other students that season to better concentrate on Yuuri’s debut. After her debut, things started escalating because Yuuri might have made a very good showing for her debut, gold at her nationals, but good wasn’t good enough for her so she started a lot of strength and cross training and quite frankly needed a lot more supervision as to not burn herself out. She also started trying to choreograph her own programs and that was another adventure all on its own. So I just never got around to getting any other students.”

“That was a mistake.” Celestino looks tired. “I made a lot of mistakes but that was one I didn’t… Yuuri is introverted and shy. She would’ve done well with another student under me but she didn’t really put herself out there, so she never quite bonded with rinkmates or college classmates. She lodged with me and spent all her time training in Detroit so when she showed up at Japanese Nationals and took the gold for the second time in Women’s Singles without anyone knowing much about her, there was resentment. From what I can tell, she spent her junior years very quietly at the local rink under a rink coach, only showing up for competitions but everyone thought she wouldn’t make the transition.”

“But she made it.” Phichit is fascinated. He always though Ciao Ciao’s hair had been the most interesting part about him.

“She did. So people got ugly. There was some sabotage and interviews about her body and weight. There were unsavory rumors about us too. I should have pushed her to tell me more but she kept quiet and it escalated until things were ugly for her all around.”

“And so she left.”

“Yes. She left.”

There is a sad sort of silence as they both think back to what might have been. Celestino stands up with a slight groan and rolls his shoulders to try and release some tension. Phichit’s normally smiling face is blank as he stares down at his hands on the boards.

“That’s why I signed on you and Marianna and Travis at the same time and added Charlotte so soon. I didn’t want you guys to ever feel like you were alone.” Celestino lets out a short laugh. “When she left, she told me to look in the Middle East, India, or Southeast Asia for a student, you know. So I guess you’re here because of her, too.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?” Phichit is visibly frustrated with his coach. Tears prickle at the corners of his eyes, too late to do any good. Yuuri has already left the rink and he can’t help her wherever she is from Detroit. Celestino is sympathetic but unapologetic.

“It hurt. That I couldn’t protect her. That things ended that way. Would it have made any difference to you, really?”

Phichit roughly wipes his face with his sleeve before saying, accusingly. “You loved her.”

Celestino blinks. “Not-not like that. I did love her. She was such a force and probably the best student I’ve ever had, but not- We weren’t like that, Phichit, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t say so.

“Right.”

Phichit and Celestino stare at each other for another moment.

“Soooo… why did she call?”

“Oh, right. She’s making a comeback for this coming season.”

“Oh, okay.”

Phichit lunges for his coach’s lapels and drags him halfway onto the ice.

“ _What?_ ”

The rink doors slam open and Marianna and Charlotte fall in and trip over each other.

” _Ciao Ciao! You coached Yuuri Katsuki?_ ”

“Ah…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit what have i done.  
> vote in the comments: is ciao ciao in an unacknowledged, unrequited love with yuuri? yea or nay?


End file.
